User blog:Brigadier Barty/Rise of the Hordes

A joke of Fate, as told in the journal of Devon, recorder of Redwall
''When Salamandastron fell in the Southern Wars, the thoughts on everybeasts' minds were "What now? How did we outlive those perilous fighting hares, those stalwart guardians who seemed to have always been there? ...Why us?" I knew not whether it was fear or quick-thinking on the Abbot's part, but he had the walls immediately strengthened and reinforced, ballistas were added to the ramparts. Otters, shrews, and squirrels were hired to train the young and old of our community in the use of weaponry and the chaos of warfare, and in doing so many great warriors rose from the ashes of a peaceful society-''

''The Stonesinger, Gideon Squirrelking, Sora Fawkes, Meredith, Tallion the Mad, Ruungvar Battleseeker, The Lord Maric. Those brave young ones from Redwall set out across Mossflower, each with their own personal journeys and their own longings. And their own legends.''

''I still remember what Skipper told me as we watched the last of them march from our walls and disappear into the distance. "Salamandastron's been dead a long time, ye know. We're ready now, for anythin' that means 'arm marchin' up that path towards us. But we won't be around fer much longer. Things are changin'."''

''Skipper is dead now, buried with the Abbot and countless others in a ditch a few miles from the Quarry. The Abbey has fallen. Replacing it is a fortress of wildcats, the last of a vengeful bunch of Greeneyes with a taste for bitter irony. Floret has fallen, and the lands South of here have been plunged into a sea of warring squirrels and merciless renegades. Salamandastron has fallen, Green Isle has fallen, Ruddaring has fallen, Noonvale has fallen. I beg you to, dear readers, as I leave this journal here within the tidy little den I have made and prepare to surrender to the Kotir patrol waiting outside, save Mossflower before we all fall to this joke of Fate. Oh, and keep my room neat and brush off any dust you may find. Oldbeast that I am. I can't stand dust.''

''~Devon, recorder of Redwall. ''

Plot
With the fall of Salamandastron and the slaughter of the Long Patrol, a long chain of bitter events followed. The Squirrelqueen of Floret was murdered in her study by her own guards, who then opened the Castle's gates to allow an army of red-cloaked soldiers within, who slew the squirrel nobles within and butchered the Otterguard. Once documents in the Forgeroom of Salamandastron were discovered with references to a place known as "Noonvale", the information was sold to a young warlord with a thirst for blood and a large force at his back, sealing Noonvale's fate. Green Isle was invaded by Searats, Ruddaring by Corsairs, Peace Isle by a band of scouring horderats who had lost contact with their fleet. As the Rogue Crew swiftly rose in members and small citystates within the Isle of Marl and Riftgard were formed, a new age was seen upon the horizon. And within the darkened Woodlands of Mossflower, where cruelty and murder are second nature in a game for survival, heroes from all stripes and backgrounds must gather a force and reclaim what was lost many seasons ago when the Fire Mountain fell. After gathering at a small woodland outpost a few leagues from Eastern Mossflower, they set out to do just that.